Foggy Melson | Jack Horkheimer Interview (August 29, 1983) @foggymelson | Uploaded October 2023 | Updated October 2024, 16 hours ago.
LIVE EYE; GOLDSTEIN; ABOUT MIAMI RESIDENTS CHANCE SEEING SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER; JACK HORKHEIMER.
Jack Horkheimer (born Foley Arthur Horkheimer; June 11, 1938 – August 20, 2010) was the executive director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium. He was best known for his astronomy show Jack Horkheimer: Star Hustler, which started airing on PBS on November 4, 1976.[1]
Early life
Jack Horkheimer was born in 1938 to a wealthy family in Randolph, Wisconsin,[2][3] the son of Mary Edmunda (née Foley) and Arthur Philip Horkheimer. His father owned a publishing firm and was the mayor of Randolph for 24 years.[4][5] Horkheimer started his show business career in 1953 at the age of 15 when he hosted a radio show on WBEV. In 1956, he graduated from Campion Jesuit High School.[6]
During the summers away from college, he travelled the country playing jazz on the piano and organ under the name "Horky". His agents at the Artists Corporation of America ended up giving him the stage name "Jack Foley". He later changed this to "Jack Foley Horkheimer". He graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1963 as a distinguished scholar.[1][5]
Jack Horkheimer was probably best known for his naked-eye astronomy television show Jack Horkheimer: Star Hustler, which started in 1976 and was broadcast nationally in 1985. Created, produced and written by Horkheimer, the show changed its name to Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer in 1997 because Internet searches were producing results for the adult magazine Hustler.
Media appearances
Horkheimer was known nationally for his commentaries about "astronomical events."[9] He was a science commentator for local Miami news station, starting in 1973.[1] A 1982 viewing event for The Jupiter Effect inadvertently resulted in a nighttime riot due to media coverage beyond Horkheimer's control.[10] In 1986, he helped promote an event for viewing Halley's Comet, traveling towards the equator aboard the supersonic airliner Concorde. He appeared on CNN several times, narrating solar eclipses and even hosted shows on Cartoon Network.[3]
Health issues
Horkheimer was born with a congenital degenerative lung disease known as bronchiectasis and, as a result, suffered from chronic pain.[4] His ailment was not diagnosed until he was 18 years old.[5] During this time, he suffered from radiation sickness[11] and lost his hair as the result of medical X-Ray treatments. In 1957, he had to leave the Honolulu Academy of Fine Arts because it was suspected that he had tuberculosis.[1] His health issues caused him to move to Miami in 1964 for the humid warm climate.[4]
Horkheimer had been close to death on several occasions because of his health issues.[1] As a result, he had prepared a grave site next to his parents. He also had a tombstone prepared and wrote his own epitaph, which reads:[3]
"Keep Looking Up" was my life's admonition;
I can do little else in my present position.
Death
Horkheimer died at his Florida home on the morning of August 20, 2010 at the age of 72.[4] His death was related to the respiratory ailment from which he had suffered since childhood.[5]
Horkheimer had never been married and did not have any children. His death was confirmed by his niece, Kathy, and Tony Lima, marketing vice president for the Miami Science Museum, Horkheimer's employer.[4] An email circulated among the museum's staff, stated that they were "very saddened to have just learned that our resident Star Gazer, Jack Horkheimer, passed away today after being ill for quite some time."[12]
Horkheimer's estate was put into probate due to concerns over his later mental well-being and the dating of his will.[13]
Sexual abuse allegation
In the spring of 2010, Horkheimer was sued by a "John Doe" plaintiff, alleging recalled incidents of past sexual abuse recovered from repressed memories.[14][13] The suit alleged that Horkheimer took him into his home as a 15-year-old runaway in 1975 (Horkheimer was known to shelter and provide financial assistance to people in need, especially young men[13]), sexually abusing him for five weeks until he moved out and became homeless. Horkheimer's family disputed the claim, believing the accusation sent him into a downward spiral that expedited his death.
After being notified of the lawsuit, Horkheimer left phone messages to a friend of the plaintiff (later provided to the Miami New Times), admitting to illegally recording all of his phone conversations "for years", and offering to assist his accuser with problems he had confided in him about.[15]
The case was dismissed on September 19, 2013, following a settlement between the plaintiff and Horkheimer's estate.[16]
LIVE EYE; GOLDSTEIN; ABOUT MIAMI RESIDENTS CHANCE SEEING SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER; JACK HORKHEIMER.
Jack Horkheimer (born Foley Arthur Horkheimer; June 11, 1938 – August 20, 2010) was the executive director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium. He was best known for his astronomy show Jack Horkheimer: Star Hustler, which started airing on PBS on November 4, 1976.[1]
Early life
Jack Horkheimer was born in 1938 to a wealthy family in Randolph, Wisconsin,[2][3] the son of Mary Edmunda (née Foley) and Arthur Philip Horkheimer. His father owned a publishing firm and was the mayor of Randolph for 24 years.[4][5] Horkheimer started his show business career in 1953 at the age of 15 when he hosted a radio show on WBEV. In 1956, he graduated from Campion Jesuit High School.[6]
During the summers away from college, he travelled the country playing jazz on the piano and organ under the name "Horky". His agents at the Artists Corporation of America ended up giving him the stage name "Jack Foley". He later changed this to "Jack Foley Horkheimer". He graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1963 as a distinguished scholar.[1][5]
Jack Horkheimer was probably best known for his naked-eye astronomy television show Jack Horkheimer: Star Hustler, which started in 1976 and was broadcast nationally in 1985. Created, produced and written by Horkheimer, the show changed its name to Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer in 1997 because Internet searches were producing results for the adult magazine Hustler.
Media appearances
Horkheimer was known nationally for his commentaries about "astronomical events."[9] He was a science commentator for local Miami news station, starting in 1973.[1] A 1982 viewing event for The Jupiter Effect inadvertently resulted in a nighttime riot due to media coverage beyond Horkheimer's control.[10] In 1986, he helped promote an event for viewing Halley's Comet, traveling towards the equator aboard the supersonic airliner Concorde. He appeared on CNN several times, narrating solar eclipses and even hosted shows on Cartoon Network.[3]
Health issues
Horkheimer was born with a congenital degenerative lung disease known as bronchiectasis and, as a result, suffered from chronic pain.[4] His ailment was not diagnosed until he was 18 years old.[5] During this time, he suffered from radiation sickness[11] and lost his hair as the result of medical X-Ray treatments. In 1957, he had to leave the Honolulu Academy of Fine Arts because it was suspected that he had tuberculosis.[1] His health issues caused him to move to Miami in 1964 for the humid warm climate.[4]
Horkheimer had been close to death on several occasions because of his health issues.[1] As a result, he had prepared a grave site next to his parents. He also had a tombstone prepared and wrote his own epitaph, which reads:[3]
"Keep Looking Up" was my life's admonition;
I can do little else in my present position.
Death
Horkheimer died at his Florida home on the morning of August 20, 2010 at the age of 72.[4] His death was related to the respiratory ailment from which he had suffered since childhood.[5]
Horkheimer had never been married and did not have any children. His death was confirmed by his niece, Kathy, and Tony Lima, marketing vice president for the Miami Science Museum, Horkheimer's employer.[4] An email circulated among the museum's staff, stated that they were "very saddened to have just learned that our resident Star Gazer, Jack Horkheimer, passed away today after being ill for quite some time."[12]
Horkheimer's estate was put into probate due to concerns over his later mental well-being and the dating of his will.[13]
Sexual abuse allegation
In the spring of 2010, Horkheimer was sued by a "John Doe" plaintiff, alleging recalled incidents of past sexual abuse recovered from repressed memories.[14][13] The suit alleged that Horkheimer took him into his home as a 15-year-old runaway in 1975 (Horkheimer was known to shelter and provide financial assistance to people in need, especially young men[13]), sexually abusing him for five weeks until he moved out and became homeless. Horkheimer's family disputed the claim, believing the accusation sent him into a downward spiral that expedited his death.
After being notified of the lawsuit, Horkheimer left phone messages to a friend of the plaintiff (later provided to the Miami New Times), admitting to illegally recording all of his phone conversations "for years", and offering to assist his accuser with problems he had confided in him about.[15]
The case was dismissed on September 19, 2013, following a settlement between the plaintiff and Horkheimer's estate.[16]
